Valentine’s Day came early this year, as roughly one thousand people turned out to the Estes Park Events Complex for the second annual Estes Park Wine and Chocolate Festival last weekend. As the name implies, the event featured delectable wine and chocolate samplings from local businesses as well as live music.

Manali Gadgil and Philip Winters came up from Denver specifically for the festival after hearing about it on Facebook.

“I thought, ‘Oh I thought it would be like a fun weekend thing to go to, and it’s great!” said Gadgil. “The band is really amazing and they seem really nice too. The wines are good.”

The lines seemed never-ending at the Estes Park Wine and Chocolate Festival on Saturday.

Winters said they visited just about every vendor with their complimentary wine glasses in hand and ready.

“I’ve had some of the best wine I’ve ever had in my life,” Winters said.

Naturally, the lines never seemed to shrink for the wine and chocolate vendors. Snowy Peaks Winery has been in Estes Park for 13 years. Candice Mohr, who does everything at the winery except make the wine, said it’s important for their business to participate in events that bring people to town.

“Of all the things that people are exposed to in Colorado, wine is also a big deal,” Mohr said. “I don’t think people naturally go out seeking wine from Colorado. So anything like this where we can get in front of a bunch of people and let people know that Colorado wine exists and it’s yummy.”

Nestled next to Snowy Peak is Jo Adams, who owns the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Both years the event has sold-out and Adams said each year the festival has been a huge success for her.

“It’s overwhelming,” Adams said. “I’m getting repeat people because my product is good quality and the variety. And it’s pretty.”

Samples of salted caramel, creme, truffle and solid chocolate hearts with flavors like raspberry, mint, milk and dark chocolate were being nabbed by the minute. Adams said this has been a great opportunity for people to pick up Valentine’s Day boxes for their significant others.

People left the event often carrying bottles of wine and boxes of chocolates out with them, stocking up for the holiday Thursday or simply to treat every day like a special day to celebrate loved ones.